San Diego County, San Diego Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Is a UV blacklight still useful, exterior-wise, if it rains after the rodents leave their urine stains? I am in the process of performing exterior maintenance to better exclude my roof rats. 1) I have a 25 year old cedar shake roof in San Diego California with openings under each shake along the rake edge of the roof at the gable ends of my house. There's no drip edge, i.e. under the shakes I have roofing paper (now somewhat curled) that runs more or less up to and rests right atop the fascia board. Because I have skip sheathing, and since the cross section of a shake is a wedge that is up to one inch at the upper, thick end, this appears to create many huge entry points along the rake edges even though the sheathing is rabbeted into the fascia board. As a result, I'm thinking of getting a UV blacklight to use outside the house to sleuth for urine stains along the upper edge of the gable end shakes and fascia boards. My question is, how easily does the winter rain wash away the urine, rendering this a pointless exercise? 2) I noticed a new product called "rat-out gel" and was thinking of applying it along the rake edges mentioned above. Or, maybe I should just buy many rolls of X-Clude and use that instead. Or maybe both. Any comment? Thanks very much for your website, Doug
My response: First off, I do not have experience using UV lights to detect rat urine. But I do suspect that rain will severely limit the effectiveness of this approach. I have never heard of Rat-Out Gel or XClude, but I typically stick to physical barriers rather than repellent type devices. If your roof makes this impossible, you might have a tough time keeping the rats out.
San Diego Rat Control Tip of The Week
Is It Common For Rats To Die During The Winter?
Nature gave rodents characteristics to survive different times of the year. A very useful feature in rats when winter is coming is being more aggressive to make sure they obtain greater amounts of food.
These animals will eat a portion of their food but will save the other part in their burrows. Among the most common provisions are pet food, dead animals, paper, plastic, fabric, and seeds.
If Rodents Do Not Find Shelter And Food, They Will Not Survive Winter
Rats have the capacity to generate extra energy through different activities that help them to keep their core temperature. However, eventually, this mechanism is harmful since it can cause inflammation in their muscles and stress for generating that amount of heat.
During summer, these rodents at 4 months old have already had their first litter of pups. Throughout their lives, they can reproduce at least 10 times. When a population is exterminated, this can regenerate in a short period. However, during winter, their reproductive capacities slow down, so if a population is exterminated, it may not be regenerated.
Be Watchful
It is important to remember that these rodents easily adapt to any warm place in your home. They can invade the majority of places that surround you and move in the dark. Although you do not see it, your house might be infested with dozens of rodents.
Each rodent has an extra store of energy during the winter that will increase their need to feed. They will also shelter and organize in colonies with a very specific hierarchy.
With winter arrival, you must be watchful. One of the best options is to find a specialist to guide you with the most effective ways to avoid unwanted guests.
